Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method for transmitting packets, comprising: determining to transmit application data from a first network device to a second network device of a powerline communication network; comparing a length of the application data with a threshold length; in response to determining that the length of the application data does not exceed the threshold length, selecting a short packet transmission technique to transmit an application data portion of a frame control field of a short packet and a known packet transmission technique to transmit a control information portion of the frame control field of the short packet, wherein the short packet transmission technique includes inserting the application data into the application data portion of the frame control field of the short packet, wherein the known packet transmission technique is supported by a legacy network device on the powerline communication network and the short packet transmission technique is not supported by the legacy network device; and transmitting the short packet on the powerline communication network.
In a powerline communication network, a first device transmits data to a second device by first determining if the data size is below a threshold. If it is, the first device uses a "short packet" technique, putting the data directly into a special part of the packet header called the "frame control field." This "short packet" method is not supported by older "legacy" devices, but uses a regular method for other control information in that header. This mixes a new faster technique with a standard one for compatibility. The device then transmits this specially formatted "short packet" on the powerline network.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet in response to determining that the length of the application data exceeds the threshold length.
Building upon the short packet transmission method of claim 1, if the application data length is greater than the threshold, the first device will transmit the application data in a regular data section of the short packet, referred to as a "payload field".
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the short packet transmission technique and the known packet transmission technique includes performing at least one member of the group consisting of: selecting a first modulation technique for the application data portion of the frame control field and selecting a second modulation technique different from the first modulation technique for the control information portion of the frame control field; selecting a first transmission mode for the application data portion of the frame control field and selecting a second transmission mode different from the first transmission mode for the control information portion of the frame control field; selecting a first carrier spacing for the application data portion of the frame control field and selecting a second carrier spacing different from the first carrier spacing for the control information portion of the frame control field; and selecting a first sampling frequency for the application data portion of the frame control field and selecting a second sampling frequency different from the first sampling frequency for the control information portion of the frame control field.
Within the short packet transmission method described in claim 1, the selection of both the short packet data placement technique and the regular control information technique involves independently choosing communication settings. This includes: different modulation techniques for the data and control parts of the frame control field; different transmission modes for the data and control parts of the frame control field; different carrier spacing (frequency separation) for the data and control parts; and different sampling frequencies for the data and control parts.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frame control field of the short packet comprises: an indication that the frame control field includes the application data; and an indication of the length of the application data.
In the short packet described in claim 1, the frame control field (the header) includes special markers. One marker indicates that the header contains actual application data, and another specifies the length of that included data.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing at least one member of the group consisting of: encoding the application data portion of the frame control field using a first FFT size and encoding the control information portion of the frame control field using a second FFT size different from the first FFT size; and encoding the application data portion of the frame control field using a first encoding scheme and encoding the control information portion of the frame control field using a second encoding scheme mode different from the first encoding scheme.
In the short packet transmission method described in claim 1, the data section of the frame control field uses a first FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) size for encoding, while the control information section uses a different FFT size. Similarly, the data section of the frame control field can use a first encoding scheme while the control information section uses a second, different encoding scheme.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the powerline communication network includes the legacy network device that does not support the short packet transmission technique.
The method described in claim 1 includes a check to determine if older "legacy" devices exist on the powerline network that do not support the short packet transmission method.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting an indication that the short packet transmission technique is applied to the application data.
The method described in claim 1 further includes transmitting an explicit signal or indicator to signal that the short packet transmission technique is being used to send the application data.
8. A first network device comprising: a processor; and a memory to store machine executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the first network device to: determine to transmit application data to a second network device of a powerline communication network; compare a length of the application data with a threshold length; in response to a determination that the length of the application data does not exceed the threshold length, selecting a short packet transmission technique to transmit an application data portion of a frame control field of a short packet and a known packet transmission technique to transmit a control information portion of the frame control field of the short packet, wherein the short packet transmission technique includes insertion of the application data into the application data portion of the frame control field of the short packet, wherein the known packet transmission technique is supported by a legacy network device on the powerline communication network and the short packet transmission technique is not supported by the legacy network device; and transmit the short packet on the powerline communication network.
A powerline communication network device contains a processor and memory. When transmitting data to another device, the processor checks if the data size is below a threshold. If so, it uses a "short packet" method, placing the data in a special part of the packet header called the "frame control field". This method is not supported by older "legacy" devices but transmits the remaining control information using a known technique. The device then transmits this "short packet".
9. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, which when executed by the processor, further cause the first network device to: determining to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet in response to a determination that the length of the application data exceeds the threshold length.
Building upon the device described in claim 8, if the application data length is greater than the threshold, the device will transmit the application data in a regular data section of the short packet, referred to as a "payload field".
10. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the frame control field of the short packet comprises: an indication that the frame control field includes the application data; and an indication of the length of the application data.
In the device described in claim 8, the frame control field of the short packet includes special markers. One marker indicates that the header contains actual application data, and another specifies the length of that included data.
11. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, to cause the first network device to select the short packet transmission technique and the known packet transmission technique include instructions to perform at least one member of the group consisting of: select a first modulation technique for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second modulation technique different from the first modulation technique for the control information portion of the frame control field; select a first transmission mode for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second transmission mode different from the first transmission mode for the control information portion of the frame control field; select a first carrier spacing for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second carrier spacing different from the first carrier spacing for the control information portion of the frame control field; select a first sampling frequency for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second sampling frequency different from the first sampling frequency for the control information portion of the frame control field; encoding the application data portion of the frame control field using a first FFT size and encoding the control information portion of the frame control field using a second FFT size different from the first FFT size; and encoding the application data portion of the frame control field using a first encoding scheme and encoding the control information portion of the frame control field using a second encoding scheme mode different from the first encoding scheme.
In the device described in claim 8, the selection of the short packet data placement technique and the regular control information technique involves independently choosing communication settings. This includes: different modulation techniques for the data and control parts of the frame control field; different transmission modes; different carrier spacing; and different sampling frequencies. The encoding uses different FFT sizes or encoding schemes for data and control.
12. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having machine executable instructions stored therein, the machine executable instructions comprising instructions to: determine to transmit application data to a second network device of a powerline communication network; compare a length of the application data with a threshold length; in response to a determination that the length of the application data does not exceed the threshold length, selecting a short packet transmission technique to transmit an application data portion of a frame control field of a short packet and a known packet transmission technique to transmit a control information portion of the frame control field of the short packet, wherein the short packet transmission technique includes insertion of the application data into the application data portion of the frame control field of the short packet, wherein the known packet transmission technique is supported by a legacy network device on the powerline communication network and the short packet transmission technique is not supported by the legacy network device; and transmit the short packet on the powerline communication network.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., flash drive, hard drive) stores instructions. When executed, these instructions cause a device to transmit data in a powerline communication network by determining if the data size is below a threshold. If so, the device uses a "short packet" method, placing the data in a special part of the packet header. This is not supported by "legacy" devices. The control information uses a standard technique. The device then transmits this "short packet".
13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein said instructions further comprise instructions to perform at least one member of the group consisting of: select a first modulation technique for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second modulation technique different from the first modulation technique for the control information portion of the frame control field; select a first transmission mode for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second transmission mode different from the first transmission mode for the control information portion of the frame control field; select a first carrier spacing for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second carrier spacing different from the first carrier spacing for the control information portion of the frame control field; and select a first sampling frequency for the application data portion of the frame control field and select a second sampling frequency different from the first sampling frequency for the control information portion of the frame control field.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, the instructions also enable the device to select different modulation techniques, different transmission modes, different carrier spacing, or different sampling frequencies for the data portion and control information portion of the frame control field.
14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the wherein the instructions further include instructions to determine that the powerline communication network includes the legacy network device that does not support the short packet transmission technique.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, the instructions also cause the device to determine if there are older "legacy" devices that do not support short packets present on the powerline network.
15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determining to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet in response to a determination that the length of the application data exceeds the threshold length.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, if the application data length is greater than the threshold, the instructions configure the device to transmit the application data in a regular data section of the short packet, referred to as a "payload field".
16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to perform at least one member of the group consisting of: encoding the application data portion of the frame control field using a first FFT size and encoding the control information portion of the frame control field using a second FFT size different from the first FFT size; and encoding the application data portion of the frame control field using a first encoding scheme and encoding the control information portion of the frame control field using a second encoding scheme mode different from the first encoding scheme.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, the instructions configure the device to encode the data section of the frame control field using a first FFT size and the control information section using a different FFT size. It also supports encoding the data section using one encoding scheme and the control section using another.
17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine to transmit the application data in the short packet based, at least in part, on at least one member of a group consisting of a communication capability of the first network device, a communication capability of the second network device, and an application that generated the application data.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, the decision to transmit data in the short packet is based on factors like the communication capabilities of the sending and receiving devices, and the type of application that generated the data.
18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet when the length of the application data exceeds a first threshold length but does not exceed a second threshold length.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, data is placed in a payload field of the short packet only if it exceeds a "first" size threshold but is still smaller than a "second" (larger) threshold.
19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein, the first threshold length is a predetermined frame control field length, and the second threshold length is a predetermined payload field length.
Relating to the size thresholds in claim 18, the "first" threshold corresponds to the maximum size of the frame control field, and the "second" threshold corresponds to the maximum size of the standard payload field.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine that the powerline communication network includes the legacy network device; and generate the short packet based, at least in part, on a time interval associated with the legacy network device.
This invention relates to powerline communication (PLC) networks, specifically addressing compatibility issues with legacy network devices that may not support modern communication protocols or packet formats. The problem arises when newer PLC devices attempt to communicate with older devices, leading to inefficiencies or failures in data transmission due to differences in packet handling capabilities. The invention provides a solution by modifying packet generation in a PLC network to accommodate legacy devices. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium stores executable instructions that, when executed, determine whether the network includes a legacy device and adjust packet generation accordingly. If a legacy device is detected, the system generates a short packet based on a time interval associated with the legacy device. This ensures compatibility by tailoring packet size and timing to the limitations of older devices, preventing communication breakdowns and improving network reliability. The system dynamically adapts communication parameters to maintain interoperability between modern and legacy devices, ensuring seamless data exchange across heterogeneous PLC networks. This approach enhances backward compatibility without requiring hardware upgrades for legacy devices, making it a cost-effective solution for network operators.
21. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 20 , wherein the time interval is a contention window inter-frame space (CIFS).
In claim 20, the time interval considered when creating the short packet is the "contention window inter-frame space" (CIFS), a delay period legacy devices use to avoid collisions.
22. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 20 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: transmit a start-of-frame delimiter of the short packet in the powerline communication network, wherein the legacy network device does not initiate a communication for the time interval in response to detecting the start-of-frame delimiter; and transmit a remainder of the short packet during the time interval.
Building upon claim 20, the instructions further control the device to send a "start-of-frame" signal for the short packet. Legacy devices will ignore the channel for the specified time interval, thus avoiding conflicts with the short packet transmission, which is sent during that silent period.
23. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the length of the application data is less than a smallest predefined payload field length specified by a protocol associated with the known packet transmission technique.
Building upon the instructions in claim 12, the length of the application data that is placed in the frame control field is less than the minimum size of a standard payload, as defined by the known protocol for the powerline network.
24. The method of claim 2 , further comprising selecting a payload field length that is less than a smallest predefined payload field length specified by a communication protocol associated with the known packet transmission technique.
In addition to claim 2, the method includes selecting a payload field size for larger data transmissions. This size is smaller than the minimum standard payload size specified in the protocol used by older devices.
25. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining to transmit the application data in the short packet based, at least in part, on at least one member of a group consisting of a communication capability of the first network device, a communication capability of the second network device, and an application that generated the application data.
Building upon the method described in claim 1, the decision to transmit data in the short packet is based on factors such as the communication capabilities of the sending and receiving devices, and the type of application that generated the data.
26. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet when the length of the application data exceeds a first threshold length but does not exceed a second threshold length.
Building upon the method described in claim 1, data is placed in a payload field of the short packet only if it exceeds a "first" size threshold but is still smaller than a "second" (larger) threshold.
27. The method of claim 26 , wherein, the first threshold length is a predetermined frame control field length, and the second threshold length is a predetermined payload field length.
Relating to the size thresholds in claim 26, the "first" threshold corresponds to the maximum size of the frame control field, and the "second" threshold corresponds to the maximum size of the standard payload field.
28. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the short packet transmission technique includes at least one member of a group consisting of a first encoding technique, a first transmission mode, and a first modulation technique, and the known packet transmission technique includes at least one member of a group consisting of a second encoding technique, a second transmission mode, and a second modulation technique.
In the method described in claim 1, the short packet technique relies on a specific encoding technique, transmission mode, and modulation technique. The legacy, known transmission technique uses a different (second) set of encoding, transmission mode, and modulation techniques.
29. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the powerline communication network includes the legacy network device; and generating the short packet based, at least in part, on a time interval associated with the legacy network device.
Building upon the method in claim 1, if legacy devices are detected, the device creates the short packet, taking into account a specific time interval associated with those legacy devices.
30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the time interval is a contention window inter-frame space (CIFS).
In claim 29, the time interval considered when creating the short packet is the "contention window inter-frame space" (CIFS), a delay period legacy devices use to avoid collisions.
31. The method of claim 29 , further comprising: transmitting a start-of-frame delimiter of the short packet in the powerline communication network, wherein the legacy network device does not initiate a communication for the time interval in response to detecting the start-of-frame delimiter; and transmitting a remainder of the short packet during the time interval.
Building upon claim 29, the method includes sending a "start-of-frame" signal for the short packet. Legacy devices will ignore the channel for the specified time interval, thus avoiding conflicts with the short packet transmission, which is sent during that silent period.
32. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: selecting a plurality of communication carriers for transmitting the application data in the short packet.
Building on the method in claim 1, multiple communication carriers are selected for transmitting the application data inside of the short packet.
33. The method of claim 32 , wherein the short packet includes an indication of the plurality of communication carriers used for transmitting the short packet.
Building on claim 32, the short packet's header contains a field that specifies which communication carriers are used to transmit the short packet's data.
34. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the a payload field length of the short packet is less than a smallest predefined payload field length specified by a protocol associated with the known packet transmission technique.
Building on claim 8, the short packet's payload field size is smaller than the smallest payload size defined by the protocol the legacy devices use for communication.
35. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the selection of the short packet transmission technique to transmit the application data and the known packet transmission technique to transmit the control information is in response to a determination that the powerline communication network includes the legacy network device that does not support the short packet transmission technique.
Building on claim 8, the device selects to use a short packet for data and a known technique for control information because legacy devices exist that do not support short packets.
36. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the machine executable instructions further include instructions to: transmit an indication that the short packet transmission technique is applied to the application data.
Building upon claim 8, the device transmits a signal that indicates the short packet data placement technique is being used.
37. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet in response to a determination that the length of the application data exceeds the threshold length. wherein the comparison of the length of the application data with the plurality of payload field lengths is in response to determining to transmit the application data in the payload field.
Building on claim 8, if the data size is greater than the threshold, the device transmits the application data in the "payload field" of the short packet after comparing the length of the application data with several different possible payload field lengths.
38. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine to transmit the application data in the short packet based, at least in part, on at least one member of a group consisting of a communication capability of the first network device, a communication capability of the second network device, and an application that generated the application data.
Building upon claim 8, the decision to use the short packet is determined at least in part by the communication capabilities of the sending and receiving devices, or the specific requirements of the application that generated the data.
39. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine to transmit the application data in a payload field of the short packet when the length of the application data exceeds a first threshold length but does not exceed a second threshold length.
Building upon claim 8, data is placed in a payload field of the short packet only if it exceeds a "first" size threshold but is still smaller than a "second" (larger) threshold.
40. The first network device of claim 39 , wherein, the first threshold length is a predetermined frame control field length, and the second threshold length is a predetermined payload field length.
Relating to the size thresholds in claim 39, the "first" threshold corresponds to the maximum size of the frame control field, and the "second" threshold corresponds to the maximum size of the standard payload field.
41. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the machine executable instructions further comprise instructions to: determine that the powerline communication network includes the legacy network device; and generate the short packet based, at least in part, on a time interval associated with the legacy network device.
Building upon claim 8, if legacy devices are detected, the device creates the short packet, taking into account a specific time interval associated with those legacy devices.
42. The first network device of claim 41 , wherein the time interval is a contention window inter-frame space (CIFS).
In claim 41, the time interval considered when creating the short packet is the "contention window inter-frame space" (CIFS), a delay period legacy devices use to avoid collisions.
43. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the first network device and the second network device are included in the powerline communication network of a vehicle.
Building upon claim 8, both the sending and receiving network devices are part of a powerline communication network found within a vehicle.
44. The first network device of claim 8 , wherein the first network device is a vehicle and the second network device is an electric vehicle supply equipment.
Building upon claim 8, the first network device is a vehicle, and the second network device is an electric vehicle charging station.
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August 29, 2017
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